Sofa bed



June 27, 1950 R BURTON 2,513,000

SOFA BED Filed Aug. 27, 1947 5 Shee'ts-Sheet l j INVENTOR.

R. A. BURTON June 27, 1950 SOFA BED 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1947 r I I June 27, 1950 R. A. BURTON 2,513,000

SOFA BED Filed Aug. 27, 1947 3 Shee'ts-Sheet 5 JNVENTOR.

Z7 j diezidllezzfizz iflrg Patented June 27, 1950 OFFICE SOFA BED Robert Allen Burton, High Point, N. 0., assignor to Johnson Hinge Company, High Point, N. 0., a corporation of North Carolina Application August 27, 1947, Serial No. 770,865

11 Claims. (oils-47) The present invention relates to sofa beds and is an improvement uponthe invention disclosed in my Patent No. 2,392,309, issued January 8, 1946. While the patented construction has proven to be very satisfactory, it does not provide means for positively locking the back against forward movement relative to the seat when these members are in sofa position. The present construction remedies this defect so that the back cannot be pulled forwardly relative to the seat and thereby unintentionally unlatch the hinge to allow the back to drop to a horizontal position or fall against the wall.

A further advantageof this" invention is that the links connecting the hinge members to the base-or frame areso positioned that the' back and seat may be moved as a unit from sofa'position to an intermediate position without the necessity of first moving the sofa wall of the room. I

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will now be more fully described,

reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a transverse vertical sectional view sition, Y

and seat in full open or bed Figure 5 is a view showing the dog tripped to' release the latch in the downward movement of the seat, 7

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional 'view taken on line 66 of Figure 1,

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on' line 'I--7 of Figurel, and

Figure8 is an enlarged view of the hinge show:

ing the hinge members in-bed position;

' Referring now to the drawings; there is dis-- closed a sofa bed I0, comprising a base or frame II, supporting the seat and back sections; I2

and I3, respectively; As in" my patented construction, the 'base I I is of substantially rectangu lar formation, comprising front and rear panels I i-and I5 respectively, 'conne'cted' by endljpanels bed away from the I6. Legs-l1 are attached to the base II and support'the latter in slightly elevated position.

A linkage unit is mounted on the inner face of each end panel I6, and consists of a bar I8 rigidly secured to the inner face of its respective panel I6 at an angle of substantially 45. Links I9 and are provided and have their lower ends pivoted to the front and rear ends respectively ofthe bar I8 and it will'be observed that "link 20 'is somewhat shorter than link I9. The-upper end of the links are pivoted to a hinge 2I consisting of a seat hinge member 22 and a back hinge member 23. Link 20 i pivoted to back hinge member 23 at 24 while link I9 is connected by a common pivot 25 to'both hinge members 22 and 23. This forms the pivot connecting these hinge members and permits swinging movenient ofthese members relative to each other. Itisto be understood that there are separate sets of linkage mechanism and hinge members at each end of the sofa bed, but since these are substantiallyidentical'in construction, only one set will be described in detail.

' Referringto Figures 1, 6 and '7, it will be observed that seat hinge member 22 is substantially flat in formation and extends upwardly and rearwardly from abase 26 constituting a right angled flange integral with the lower edge of the seat hinge member. This base or flange 20 is secured to an end'rail 21 forming a part of the frame structureof the seat section I2. The back hinge member 23 is also substantially flat in formation and is provided with a lower right angled flange 28 similar to the flange 26. This flange is secured to an end rail 29 forming a part of the frame structureof the back section I3.

As will be observed'from Figure 8, a latch 30 is pivotally mounted on the member 23, the pivot 3I being located adjacent the lower edge of the member 23. In the bed position of the hinge (Figures '1 and 3), thelatch 30 projects beyond the forward edge 32 of the back hinge member 23 and is'urged into contact with the curved edge 33 of the seat hinge member 22 by a spring 34. This spring is coiled around the pivot 3| and has one end 35 anchored to the hinge member 23, while its other end36 is curved down and around the latch 30 adjacent'its free end.

The upper edge of 'thelatch is provided with a notch 31 adjacent the pivot 3i. This notch is adapted to be eng'aged'by the corner portion or projection 38 of a dog 39 as will be hereinafter described in detail. This dog'is pivoted at dll to the flat face'of the back hinge member 23 at apoint'slightly above the: latch '30. A pin or projection 4| is located above the dog to limit upward movement of the same about its pivot.

The dog is also provided with a pointed projection or finger 42 for engagement with a portion of the seat hinge 22 as will also be described in detail hereinafter.

It will be observed that the curved portion 33 of the seat hinge member 22 is located somewhat above the base or. flange 26 of said seat hinge member. That is, the flat surface of the member 22 has been cut away adjacent its lower end to provide a space for the reception of the latch 30 whereby the upper edge of the latch may con-' tact the edge 33 and slide along the same when the member 22 is moved about its pivot relatively I to the member 23.

4 would have the effect of moving the finger 42 0f the dog 39 against the projection 46 of the hinge member 22 and urge the projection 38 of the dog into the latch notch 31, thus releasing the latch from the notch 43 and unintentionally permitting the back to drop down against the wall or to its horizontal position.

The present construction is designed to remedy this defect and means are provided to positively lock the back against forward movement relative .to' the seat when they are in the sofa position of Figure 3. This means comprises a locking head Referring again to Figure 8, the lower curved I edge 33 of the seat hinge member 22 is provided with a notch 43 adjacent its inner edge. notch is preferably formed by cutting out and striking up a portion of the fiat surface of the member 22 so as to not only provide the notch 43 but also a post 44 which constitutes means for preventing the dog 39 from accidentally .sliding over the surface of the member 22 in the event that the pivots should become sufficiently loose to permit this movement to take place.

In the position shown in Figure 8, the seat hinge member 22 is provided inwardly of its pivot 25 with a projection or finger 45 which is located adjacent the notch 43 and is adapted to engage the finger 42 and move the dog 39 downwardly about its pivot when the hinge member 22 is moved from one position of adjustment to another. The seat hinge member 22 is also provided with a top projection 46 which is spaced from and connected to the projection 45 by a curved edge 41 which forms with said projections a pocket for receiving the finger 42 in certain positions of the dog 39.

Referring to Figures 1, -2 and 3, and assuming that it is desired to move the seat and back sec- I tions I2 and I3 from their bed position shown in Figure 1 to the sofa or couch use position, this is accomplished by initially swinging the seat section I2 about its pivot 25 to the position shown in Figure 2. During this movement of the seat section about its pivot, the latch will slide on the lower curved edge -33-of theseat hinge member 22 until it engages the notch 43. When this has been accomplished, the position of the seat is then reversed. That is, it is swung downwardly to its horizontal position and because of the interlocking connection between the latch 30 and the notch 43 the back section I3 will be moved to its normal operative position shown in Figure 3. The

construction of the latch and notch is such that the pressure exerted on the back when in normal use will have the efiect of urging the latch into interlocking engagement with the notch. It is to be understood, of course, that the spring 34 constantly urges the latch 30 toward the seat hinge member 22. rigid construction is provided which will with- ,stand the normal strain and stress imposed upon Thus, a relatively solid and '48 which is rigidly and non-rotatably connected to the inner end 49 of pivot pin 24 upon which the back hinge member 23 pivots (see Figure 6). This pin 24 passes through an opening in the back hinge member and has its outer end 50 rigidly and hoh-rotatably secured to the upper end :of the link 29. It will be observed from the several figures that the locking head 48 is so mounted on the link 29, and the movements of this link and the back hinge member 22 are so correlated that when the seat and back are moved to their sofa-forming positions the free end of the locking head will swing in behind the concaved side 5I of the dog 39. tion, any attempt to pull the back I3 forwardly with respect to the seat I2 will be prevented because of the fact that the locking head will contact or jam against the side iii of the dog. The upper end of the dog will, of course. be prevented from turning on its pivot 40 by reason of the stop 4|.

When it is again desired to move the back and,

shown in Figure 4. This further movement, that is, the movement of the seat from the position shown in Figure 2 to that in Figure 4, will brin into operation the topprojection or finger 46 of the seat hinge section 22. The hinge section 22, of course,:swings about its pivot during movement of seat section 12 and in the present instance brings the projection 46 into engagement with the finger 42. This will swing the dog 39 downwardly about its pivot so that the projection 38 on the dog will engage the top edge of the latch andmove it 'outof engagement with the notch 43 as the hinge member 22 is further moved about its pivot. The projection 38 of the dog will continue to slide along the top edge of the latch until it engages the latch notch 31. When this is accomplished, the dog will retain the latch in its released position so that the seat section I2 may be moved in the reverse direction, that is, downwardly to the horizontal bed position. Just before the seat section I2 moves to its extreme horizontal position, the dog 39 is released from the latch notch .31 to permit the latch to again engage the curved edge 33 of the seat hinge member 22 so that it will be in a position to slide along said edge and engage the notch 43 when the seat section I 2 is subsequently raised to the *position shown in Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 5, there is disclosed the means for disengaging the dog .39 from the latch notch 31. As the seat section "I2 is swung to the position shown in Figure 5., the projection 45 of the hinge member 22 engages the dog and moves In this posi-v 1 it about its pivo,t,. and;thus raises the projection 31. out of engagement with the notch 31. As soon as this is accomplished, the spring 34 is free to urge the latch into engagement with the edge 33 of the hinge section 22 whereby'the latch is in position to slide along the edge 33 and engage the notch 43 when the seatsection is again moved from its bed position. l l 7 From the foregoing it will be observedthat in all positions ofadjustment of the seat and back, except the sofa position illustrated in ,Figure 3, these sections may be moved relativelyto each other. This arrangement thereby permits the seat and back to be adjusted relative to each other to release the latch mechanism when necessary but positively locks themagainst relative movement in the one position where such movement would cause inconvenience and render the sections inoperative to form the SO faw It will further be observed that by making the link shorter than the link l9 and arranging the bar l8 about which they pivot, at an angle of substantially 45, the back and seat may be moved as a unit from sofa position to an intermediate position without the necessity of first moving the sofa bed away from the wall of the room.

I It is to be understoodthat while the hinge construction is particularly designed andadapted for use in sofa beds or the like, it is capable of being employed for use in other devicesr It is to be further understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction shown in the drawings and that the phraseology employed in the specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. v a

I claim: I

1. In a sofa bed having a back and a seat movable as a unit outof their sofa-forming positions and also'movable relatively ;to each other,

a hinge pivotally connecting said back and seat,

said hinge comprising a first hinge membersecured to the back, .asecond hinge member secured to the seat and pivoted to-the first mem-;v

ber, said seat hinge member having a notch,a

latch movably mounted on the back hinge memher and normally urged'into contact with the seat hinge member and adapted upon movement of said seat hinge member about its pivot to engage the notch and retain said hinge members in one position of adjustment, means movably carried by said back hinge member engageable with the latch to release it from the notchand to re, tain said latch in released position, means on said seat hinge member engageable with said first mentioned means to move said jfirst mentioned means into retaining relation with the latch, additional means on said seat hinge member engageable with said first mentioned means to move said first mentioned means out of retaining relation with the latch and thereby permit the latch to move into engagement with said seat hinge member, a locking head carried on one of the hinge membersand movable in respect to said latch-releasing means and located adjacent thereto, and means connectedto the locking head and effective to move said head into engagement with said latch-releasing means during movement of said seat and back to their'sofa forming positions to thereby lock said seat and back against relative movement.

2. In a sofa bed having a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their, sofa-forming positions and movable relatively to each other, a hinge pivotally connecting said back a and seat, said h geicQmprising Ja pairof hinge lmembers, each Ill having a' substantially flat surface, one of said hinge members being secured to the back, the other of said hinge members being secured to the seat andpivoted to the back hinge member in overlapping relation, said seat hinge member havingan edge terminating in a notch adjacent its inner over-lapped end, a latch pivotally mounted on the back hinge member below the notched edge of the seat hinge member and normally urged into contact'with said edge, said latch upon movement of said seat hinge member being adapted to slide on said edge and engage said notch to thereby retain said hinge members in one position-of adjustment, said latch having a notch formed in one of its edges, a dog pivotally mounted on said back hinge member above the latch and having a portion thereof slidable along said latch edge into engagement with said latch notch to release said latch from the notch on the seat hinge member and to retain said latch in released position, said seat hinge mem her having a portion thereof adapted when said seat, hinge member-is moved about its pivotin one direction, to move into engagement with the dog for controlling the latch releasing movement of said dog, said seat hinge member also having a portion thereof adapted when said seat hinge member is moved about its pivot in. the reverse direction, to move into engagement with the dog to release it from the latch notch and thereby permit the latch to move into engagement with the edge of the seat hinge member, a locking head carried onone of said hinge members, and means connecting said locking head to a part mcvablerelative to said do during movement of said seat and back members about their pivot and eiTective to move said head into engagement with an edge portion of the dog when said hinge members'are in their sofa-forming positions to thereby lock said seat and back against relative movement,

3. In a hinge for a sofa bed, a pair of hinge members, each-having a substantially fiat surface, said members having portions of their fiat surfaces arranged in overlapping relation and pivoted to each other within the overlapped area, one of said members having an edge terminatin in a notch adjacent its inner overlapped end, a, latch pivotally mounted on the second hinge member adjacent the notched edge of the first hinge member and normally urged into contact with said edge, said latch upon movement of said first hinge member about its pivot, being adapted to slide on said edge and engage said notch to thereby retain said hinge members in one position of adjustment, said latch having anotch formed in one of its edges, a dog pivotally mounted on said second hinge member. and having a portion thereof slidable along said latch edge into engagement with said latch notch to release said latch from the notch 0n the first hinge member and to retain said latch in released position, said first hingemember having a portion thereof adapted when said first hinge member is moved about its pivot in one direction, to move into engagement with the dog for controlling the latch releasing movement. of said dog, said first hinge member also having a portion thereof adapted when said first hinge member is-moved about its pivot in thereverse direction, to move into engagement with the dog, to, release it from the latch notch and thereby permitthe latch tov move into engagement with thQxedgeofthe first hinge member, a locking headdcarried on said second hingemember, ,and.

4. In a sofa bed having a base, a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their sofa-forming positions and also movable relative to each other, a hinge pivotally connecting said back and seat, said hinge comprising a first hinge member secured to the back and a second hinge member secured to the seat and pivoted to the first hinlge member, a latch pivotall carried by one hinge member and normally urged into engagement with the other hinge member, said other hinge member having an element engageable with the I latch to normally retain said hinge members in one position of adjustment, a dog movably mounted on one of said hinge members and engageable with the latch to release it from said element, said other hinge member having a portion thereof movable into engagement with the dog for controlling the latch releasing movement of said dog, a pair of links pivotally connestin the hinge members to thebase, a locking head mounted on one of the links and engaging one of thehinge members adjacent the'dog and effective to move into a position to lock said dog and said hinge members against relative movement when said hinge members are in their sofaforming positions.

5. In a sofa bed having a base, a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their sofa-forming positions and also movable relative to each other,

a hinge pivotally connecting said back and seat, said hinge comprising a pair of hinge members, each having a substantially fiat surface, one of said hinge members being secured tothe back, the other of said hinge members being secured to the seat and pivoted to the back hinge member in overlapping relation, said seat hinge member having an edge terminating in a notch adjacent its inner overlapped end, a latch pivotally mounted on the back hinge member below the Y notched edge of the seat hinge member and normall urged into contact with said edge, said latch upon movement of said seat hinge member being adapted to slide on said edge and engage said notch to thereby retain said hinge members in one position of adjustment, said latch having a notch formed in one of its edges, a dog pivotally mounted on said back hinge member above the latch and having a [portion thereof slidable along said latch edge into engagement with said 1 latch notch to release said latch from the notch on the seat hinge member and to retain said latch in released position, said seat hinge member having a portion thereof adapted when said seat hinge member is moved about its pivot in one direction, to move into engagement with the dog for controlling the latch releasing movement of said .dog, said seat hinge member also having a portion thereof adapted when said seat hinge member is moved about its pivot in the reverse direction, to move into engagement with the dog to release it from the latch notch and thereby permit the latch to move into engagement with the edge of the seat hinge member, a pair of links pivotally connecting the hinge members to the base, a locking head mounted on the upper end of one of the links to move therewith, said locking head bein slidable 0n the flat suriaace of the back hinge member adjacent the dog and effective to move into a po's'ition to lock said dog and said hinge members against relative movement when said hinge members are in their sofa} forming positions.

6. In a sof bed having a base, a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their sofa forming positions and also movable relative to each other, a hinge pivotally connecting said back and seat, said hinge comprising a first hinge member. secured to the back and a second hinge member secured to the seat and Ipi-votedto the first hinge member,- a pair of links pivotally connecting the hinge members to the base, meanscarried by one ofthe hinge members to normally engage the other hinge member and retain said back and seat in their soft-forming positions but permitting movement of said back relative to said seat, an element movably mounted ona part of the hinge and having an arcuate edge portion, and a look-- ing head carried by one of said links adjacent said element and movable by its link into en-' gagement with the arcuate edge portion of said element when said hinge members are in their sofa-forming positions to thereby lock said hinge members against relative movement.

7. In a'sofa bed having a base, a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their sofa-forming positions and also movable relative to each other, ahinge pivotally connecting'said back and seat, said hing-e comprising a first hinge member secured to the back and a second hinge member secured to the seat and pivoted to the first hinge member, a pair of links pivotally connecting the hinge members to the base, means carried by one of the hinge members to normally engage the other hinge member and retain said back and seat in their sofa-forming positions but permitting movement of said back relative to said sea-t, an element mounted on a part of the hinge, and alockin-g head carried by one of the said links adjacent said element and movable by its link into engagement with a portion of said element when said hinge members are in their sofaformi ng positions to thereby lock said hinge members against relative movement.

8. In a soft bed having a base, a back and a. seat movable as a unit out of their sofa-forming positions and also movable'relative to each other, a hinge pivotaily connecting said back and seat, said hinge comprising a first hinge member secured to the back and a second hinge member secured to the seat and-pivoted to the first hinge member, a pair of links pivotal ly connecting the hinge members to the base, means carried by one of the hinge members to normall engage the other hinge member and retain said back and seat their sofa-forming :posi-tions but permitting movement of said back relative to said seat, an element mounted on one of said hinge members and a locking head carried by one of said links and spaced therefrom and overlying the surface of said last-mentioned hinge member adjacent said element, said locking'head being movable by the link into engagementwith a portion of said element when said hinge members are theirsofa-iormin'g positions to thereby lock said hinge'members against relative movement.

9. In a hinge for a sotaibed, :a pair of pivoted hinge members, a latch pivotally carried by one hinge member and normally urged into engagement with the other hinge member, said other hinge member having a portion engageable with the latch to normally retain said hinge members in one position of adjustment, a doe movably mounted on an element of said hinge and engageable with the latch to release it from said portion, said other hinge member having a portion thereof movable into engagement with the dog for controlling the latch releasing movement of said dog, a locking head carried on one of said hinge members and movable in respect to said dog, and means connected to said locking head and effective to move said head into engagement with an edge portion of the dog during movement of said hinge members to their sofa forming positions to thereby lock said hinge members against relative movement.

10. In a sofa bed having a base, a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their sofa-forming positions and also movable relative to each other, a hinge pivotally connecting said back and seat, said hinge comprising a first hinge member secured to the back and a second hinge member secured to the seat and pivoted to the first hinge member, a pair of links pivotally connecting the hinge members to the base, means carried by one of the hinge members to normally engage the other hinge member and retain said back and seat in their sofa-forming positions but permitting movement of said back relative to said seat, an element mounted on a part of the hinge, a locking head carried by one of said links adjacent said element and movable with its link into engagement with a portion of said element when said hinge members are in their sofa-forming positions to thereby lock said hinge members against relative movement.

11. In a sofa bed having a base, a back and a seat movable as a unit out of their sofa-forming positions and also movable relative to each other, a hinge pivotally connecting said back and seat, said hinge comprising a first hinge member secured to the back and a second hinge member secured to the seat and pivoted to the first hinge member, means carried by one of the hinge members to normally engage the other hinge member and retain said back and seat in their sofa-forming positions. but permittin movement of said back relative to said seat, an element mounted on a part of the hinge, a locking head carried on one of the hinge members and movable in respect to said element, and means operable by the movement of said hinge members and effective to move said head into engagement with said element during movement of said seat and back to their sofa-forming positions to thereby lock said seat and back against relative movement.

ROBERT ALLEN BURTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,136,830 Vallone Nov. 15, 1938 2,236,351 Krakauer Mar. 25, 1941 2,295,083 Jonassen Sept. 8, 1942 2,392,309 Burton Jan. 8, 1946 

